The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.

The Buddha and all sentient beings are nothing but expressions of the one mind. There is nothing else.

True freedom is not the absence of commitment but the presence of choice.

Buddhas and ordinary beings are not two. Enlightenment and delusion are not different paths.

The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter what the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have.

The knowledge of dissolution comes when you see both the noting mind and noted object dissolving together.

Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.

Just know what is happening in your mind - not happy or sad about it, not attached. If you suffer, see it, know it, be empty.

If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life.

The more we understand impermanence, the more we understand that we can't hold on to anything.

To live is enough.

If you love someone, the greatest gift you can give them is your presence.

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

When the heart is still, it can be kind. When the mind is still, it can see clearly.

The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.

The ultimate purpose of Buddhism is to serve and benefit humanity.

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.

The trouble is, you think you have time.

Real happiness lies within. It cannot be found in external objects or achievements.

The development of insight is gradual, but the realization of truth is sudden.

Peace is not found by changing the world, but by changing your attitude to the world.

The noting mind and the object noted appear to occur as a pair. Through concentration they are seen to arise and vanish together.

The cultivation of loving-kindness has the power to transform enmity into amity, hostility into hospitality.

Enlightenment is not about becoming divine. Instead, it's about becoming more fully human.

The real purpose of Zen is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes.

Freedom is not found in the absence of difficulty, but in our relationship to it.

Just as true humor is laughter at oneself, true humanity is knowledge of oneself.

The practice of mindfulness transforms the mind from a place of suffering into an instrument of enlightenment.

The mind of the past is ungraspable; the mind of the future is ungraspable; the mind of the present is ungraspable.

Sticking with uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic—this is the spiritual path.

The path is not about perfecting ourselves, but about perfecting our love.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.